Starlink must resolve all concerns, says Scindia

NEW DELHI: The government is "happy to give" a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink as long as it complies with the conditions laid down for offering services in India and addresses security concerns, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.

- Aman Gupta & Gulveen Aulakh

"They (Starlink) are in the process of addressing the (security) concerns, and they have to check all the boxes," Scindia said in a media briefing, noting that the SpaceX-owned satellite broadband provider's application was under process. He did not elaborate on the security concerns the Indian government has raised with Starlink.

Indian telecom firms Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd are resisting Starlink's entry into the satellite broadband market, arguing that the US-based company's direct-to-consumer service will compete with their retail services, distorting the level-playing field. Spectrum allocation for satellite broadband is at the centre of the ongoing tussle between the two sides. Starlink has sought administrative spectrum allocation, and the Indian carriers have cited 'same service, same rules' as the benchmark for spectrum allocation.